01x05 - Suit Up!

[bunniefuu]

[Letamendi] Cosplay is
the visible expression of one's fandom...

usually through masks, helmets, makeup,
props and some kind of costume,

and is an extension of someone's passion
for a particular character.

[Letamendi]
In order to connect to this practice,

cosplayers design the costume,

they sew it,
they put it on, and they wear it

in a public place like a convention,

and they are emulating the character
that they're connected to.

You put on a costume,
and you walk into this giant floor,

and there's all these people,
and someone takes a photo of you.

That's the moment that you're like,
"Oh, I belong here."

That is what cosplay is about.

[Cink] There are so many ways that people
express their passion for comic books,

but I think cosplay
is the most pure expression of fandom

because you have to be unafraid.

You realize that you're making yourself
really vulnerable

in the face of everyone around you
to put on this costume

and insert yourself and announce yourself
into society as a fan at this level.

Cosplay is, very simply, "costume play."
It's an elision of two words

that was really coined
by a Japanese journalist

named Nobuyuki Takahashi
around the mid '80s.

He came up with the term "cosplay,"

and cosplay really means just that,
costume play.

You wear a costume to a convention.
You embody a character.

You need to know the poses so that you can
really imbue yourself with that character.

Comic cons really kicked off in 1939.

There was Worldcon, which was in New York
City, and it was about 200 people.

And that was really the birth
of modern cosplay.

There was a woman named Myrtle Douglas
who dressed up in futuristic costumes.

That caught on over time,

and then, I think, it really started
to explode in the early '70s.

The first San Diego Comic-Con, which was
then called Golden State Con, kicked off.

Marvel had its first convention
in 1975 in New York City.

I think New York Comic Con
to me is, one, a really special con

because it's Marvel's home con.

Marvel is the home of superheroes.

So when you are at New York Comic Con,
it is like you are in the Marvel Universe.

I really think of fandom
as a shared experience.

Cosplay has always been
about community and coming together,

and there's this
really electric experience

where somebody sees your costume
and they're like,

"Oh, man, that's sick. I love that."

And you get this dopamine burst
of, "Oh, my God, you see me.

You understand me.
You get what I'm about."

[Jasmine]
New York Comic Con's very, very close.

Still have to prep a little bit for it.
It's huge. I've only been once.

Working towards a con,
there is a certain date I have to be done,

so I'm stressed out trying to finish.

[Vincent] So, Jasmine,
the only piece missing is the wig?

-[Jasmine] Uh, yeah.
-Okay.

You sure that it's not in the luggage?

[Jasmine] I definitely have to lean
on my husband a lot.

Make sure we have everything.

[Jasmine] Honestly,
he's a huge support system.

[Vincent] Makeup good.
Still looking for the wig.

How does the makeup look?

Perfect as always.

I would not finish a lot of costumes and
be mentally sound if I didn't have him.

Many costumes,
I can't get dressed or even put it on

if I don't have him helping me out.

[Vincent] All right?

-I need to look in the mirror, actually.
-Okay.

By participating in this thing
that is so important to her

and that makes her so happy,
that makes me happy as a by-product.

-You look good.
-I look so tall.

I know.

[Jasmine] I like being able
to not be yourself for a minute

'cause it gets boring
just being you every day, all day.

It's really cool to be able to put on
makeup and have wigs and the hair

and just become a different person.

CutiePieSensei is my online persona.
She is me.

I made it my username when I was


And it got too late to change it.

Now I have 172,000 followers
on my Instagram.

[chuckles] So I was like, "All right,
just gonna go with it. This is me now."

Cosplay is cool because regardless
of what we look like,

height, body shape, race, hair color,

you make it whatever you want.

My way of having a voice and being loud

and doing certain characters
that are powerful,

which is different than I am in real life.

I'm trying to see...

I look so awkward. I'm trying to find one
where I don't look awkward.

I like these.

Overall, I'm a very quiet person.

I really am very, kind of, low-key.

I think it was going
between that one and...

I describe myself as a nerd
because... mainly because I do cosplay.

You should do that one
with this as a side-by-side.

No. [laughs]

We are absolutely,
positively nerds in every way.

My background's in computer engineering.

I manage a team of engineers that work
on solutions for power companies.

So, a lot more boring
than what Jasmine does.

[Jasmine] I'm a concept artist
for a video game company,

so I draw characters
that they put into the game.

I'm drawing all the time for work.

I kind of want to do something else
when I get home,

and cosplay's really cool for me
because it allows me to be creative

in a way that's not the same way
I'm creative during the day.

I can get a chance to sew
and still use my hands

and take something that's just fabric
and random craft foam and stuff,

it doesn't look like anything,
and being able to turn it into something.

Shuri is a super powerful character.

What ends up happening in the comics,
T'Challa gets injured,

so she has to come up and be like,
"Okay. Wakanda still needs protecting.

Somebody has to be the Black Panther.
He can't do it right now."

So she's able to take on that role,
and she gets to eat the herb

and get the whole supernatural abilities
in terms of speed and strength,

and she gets the ability to shape-shift,

and at one point, she's able
to bring back Wakandans from the dead

or re-animate them and stuff.
It's really cool.

So she definitely trains and gets
to be the Black Panther for a while,

and she's proven
that she's strong enough to do so.

Growing up, I didn't see a lot
of characters that looked like me.

So, being able to actually see yourself
in a character,

specifically a black female
that's not just a side character

but someone who's actually
important to that universe

and who makes a difference and is strong,
beautiful and confident, is really cool.

It's through these characters that other
people in the world can find a community.

The door is open for anyone in this world.

Any skin tone, any shape, any size,
any age, any type, you are welcome here.

[Marcy] I'm from Colorado originally,

although both my parents are
from Connecticut and New York,

so I kind of ended up bouncing back
to where they started.

I went to an art school in Brooklyn,

and then I ended up
just sticking around, to be honest.

I fell in love with the city.

I love the life and the vibrancy
and the culture here.

And I was like, "You know, I really want
to stay here, maybe forever."

Ever since I was a little,
little, little kid,

I was building stuff, cutting up paper,
pretending to be animals.

My mom used to make me costumes
when I was little,

and then I started doing it for myself.

Dr. Strange is the more magical side
of the Marvel Universe.

He lives in a house in New York,
which is actually kind of cool.

And sometimes people come
to him with cases

or unusual happenings
that he'll try to help with.

He is a master of the mystical arts.
[laughs]

He can do, frankly, quite a lot of things,

often dimensional magic,
sometimes time magic.

He can move objects.

He can fight spirits
that other people can't see.

He can fly. He can do things
with his cape. There are a lot of options.

I think when people think of Dr. Strange,
they really think of that cape.

So that's the one thing
I really wanna nail.

I love that I have access
to the Garment District.

I think I can find
a lot more very unique fabrics.

It's truly a treasure hunt,
which is kind of fun.

When I'm doing comics costumes,
because the colors are so flat in comics,

I think really hard
about the type of fabric that I'm picking

and how to make a flat color something
that's more interesting in the real world.

-That looks like Dr. Strange.
-Well, that's the goal.

-Ah!
-[chuckles]

[Marcy] I daydream about making costumes
all the time,

and with New York Comic Con coming up,
you really have to think ahead

about wearing it,
about what it's gonna feel like.

And, yeah, it's fun just to imagine
yourself swooshing around in New York.

It's a good combo.
I think that's a good choice.

One thing that's really cool
about the cosplay community

is that, you know, as long as
you're being respectful,

you can cosplay anybody you want.

I think that labels can be very useful
for some people,

but I've always just been like,
"I am who I am,"

and I don't really need to decide that
based on other people's framework.

As many people do as you grow up,
you learn more and more about yourself.

I don't think I've ever really strongly
felt connected to any particular gender.

I'm fairly relaxed about pronoun usage,
but I think "they, them"

is just a little bit closer to the fact

that I don't feel
strongly feminine or masculine.

I think that cosplay
can be a really good opportunity

to explore presentation
in a way that might be new.

I've seen a lot of people
who either identify as

or were assigned male or female at birth
who will try out something different.

Cosplay's a great way
for people to explore that.

For a lot of cosplayers,
we all see pieces of ourselves

in the characters that we connect with.

Heroes are exciting.
They're always gonna be exciting,

but the reason that we really connect
to superheroes is their human side

and what it is that makes them a hero
in the first place.

I work as a toy designer these days.

We have a lot of Marvel licenses,
which is really fun

because it allows me to work on characters
that I think are really interesting.

I do specialize in the soft outfits,

so they were very excited to know
that I was a cosplayer

because it meant that I understood
how physical clothing was made

and how to design superhero outfits

so that they could go onto a body
and move right.

This is a version of Lady Loki

that I designed based on a combination
of runway fashion

as well as some of the comic elements.

So many iterations of Loki
have been shown as male,

but he has taken on female form before

and, especially,
more recently in the comics,

the newer, younger Loki
has actually spoken a little bit

about maybe being gender variant
or being q*eer,

which has been pretty cool, I think,
for a lot of q*eer readers to be like,

"Okay, we always kind of knew this,

but to have it so explicitly stated
in the comic is pretty unusual."

I think because I love the craft
of cosplay so much,

it's a great way for me
to display the thing that I've made.

I mean, it's like,
a 2D artist might have a gallery show,

and here's a bunch of friends
or people that I don't know

that I want to show what I made,
that I want to say,

"Hey, look,
here's a bunch of stuff I made."

So in a way wearing a costume is a
great way to display the finished product.

Superheroes are defined
by caring about the people around them

and wanting to do what they can,
and that can be big or that can be little.

It doesn't mean that you have
to save the universe every single time.

Even just helping someone who's struggling
can still be a heroic act.

A lot of us are turning to these
characters because of the relationships,

the connection to heroism, something
that I think a lot of us are looking for.

What does it mean to be a hero?

What does it mean to be a good person?

All right.
Come on, you crazy bunch. Let's go.

[Josh] We have a zoo. [laughs]
We have a couple dogs, couple cats.

You guys are having waffles this morning.

I'm married. I have two little girls.

-What do you want, butter or cream cheese?
-Both.

And Adaline is my oldest daughter
and then Ayla is my youngest.

-Hi, guys.
-Mommy!

[Josh] Trish is my wife.

We're actually going to be celebrating
our ten-year anniversary next year,

but we've been together 18 years.

We own a business photographing weddings.

It has its days like anything else,

but for the most part,
we work really seamless together.

We were childhood friends,
and then we started dating in high school.

I've always been into comics,

and then she kind of got into the culture
because I was.

Can you show them
your Captain Marvel pose?

[Trish] Some people don't know
what cosplay is,

and when I tell them, they look
at me like I'm crazy a little bit.

Like, "My husband dresses up
as a full superhero."

[Josh] Being somebody
who is naturally a little bit shy,

I've tried to stay under the radar
for a long time...

and then I went to my first Comic Con
a number of years ago.

It did take some getting used to,
but, almost in a weird way,

I think it was
almost like a confidence builder.

[Trish] As we became more accepted of it,
we became more open about it.

Like, "Hey, this is what we do.
We have fun with it."

[Josh] Right after we bought the house,
my wife was like,

"Why don't you just take the garage,
refinish it and just--

You have all this amazing stuff,
and a lot of it sits in boxes.

Just go for it."

The agreement was, "You can have
the whole garage to yourself,"

and he, you know, renovated it,
and it's his workspace.

It's where he creates everything.

[Josh] My great-grandfather Harry Sahle
was a Timely Comics artist.

Like, the Golden Age.
This was, like, the '40s.

He worked
on The Human Torch and All Winners.

He created a couple different characters
for Timely. One was the Black Widow.

Not Natasha Romanoff but something,
from what I've understood,

was somewhat of an inspiration
and ultimately led to what we know.

He worked on about seven or eight
Captain America titles.

It's neat to be able to have
some sort of small family lineage

to a character like Captain America.

I've always really liked
Captain America's story.

I'm always one for the underdog.

He is a guy who just wanted to serve
his country and do the right thing,

but 'cause he was a scrawny guy,
was constantly rejected

and then becomes
this amazing super soldier.

I mean, you just look at this
and this is what, in my mind,

what Captain America would look like
in the real world if he really existed.

So that's kind of what we're striving
to do is bring that suit to life.

The New York Comic Con is next weekend,
so we're kind of feeling the con crunch.

Today,
we're going to be 3D printing the wings.

We're gonna take the "A"
that has been cut and threaded.

We're gonna mold that.
We're gonna cast that.

And we're gonna become Steve Rogers.
We're gonna become Captain America.

The guys that I work with, Mark and Dan,

we all work very seamlessly
with one another.

So Mark designs the files,
and then I take those files

and bring those to life, and then we work
with Dan, who does our soft goods.

So he sews the fabrics
and things like that.

[Josh] What do you think about the "A"?
Should we texture the "A" at all?

Because the fabric for the cowl
is so textural,

I think leaving it nice and flat
is a good choice.

-Hi.
-Hey.

Hi.

Iron Man?

-[Josh] Oh, yeah, Iron Man.
-[Trish] Iron Man, yeah.

[Josh] Yeah, you like that?

This year, I am going with Trish.

She's been to Comic Con as a spectator,

but this is her first time going
in cosplay,

so it should be a fun experience.

-[Trish] Dan.
-Where'd you go?

[Trish] This year I'm gonna be Peggy,
who is Captain America's love interest.

I guess I never felt a character
I connected with until recently.

I can be a little shy.

So, the thought of dressing up and having
people come up and talk to me.

Random strangers
want to take pictures with me.

I was just a little resistant,

but his mom always tells me,
"It's ingrained into our blood.

Comics are ingrained in our blood."

And she's sort of right.

So I'm gonna just roll with it.

[Josh] I think a lot of people,
when they think superheroes,

they naturally immediately think
of somebody who was born with powers

or had an accident or something.

But the whole idea
behind a superhero is just...

Really, it's somebody
who's doing the right thing.

Cosplaying as Captain America
has definitely made me more aware

of how everybody should act.

It's like it's made me want
to be a better person.

It's somebody
I just feel very at home with.

It feels like a part of me,
rather than a costume.

Cosplay brings out the different side
of who you are.

And now that my daughter and my wife
are getting into it, it's a lot of fun.

You know, for me, that's where it's like,
"Okay, this is cool.

This is way more fun than it ever was."

People, when they first get
into Marvel cosplay,

are usually really drawn in
by a specific character.

Maybe you look a little bit like that
person and you're like, "I see myself.

I see aspects
of that character in myself."

And you let the two come together as one.

[Amanda] Come on, Kirby. Kirby?

I own a dog hotel that's part of my house.

Usually I have an average
of ten to 12 dogs here at a time.

-Guys, come on!
-[dogs barking]

I love what I do. I don't think
I would pick it if I didn't like dogs.

[laughs]

I mainly picked it because I get to deal
with dogs more than I do people.

I've had a bunch of different jobs
and stuff before,

but I seem to work better with animals,
and it's just always been that way.

I tried to be a pet sitter
for my neighbors when I was little.

[laughs]

I mean, I was walking around with a flyer
at age seven being like,

"I'll watch your bunnies and dogs
for you."

But that's kind of always something
I wanted to do,

so I turned it into a full career.

I even painted my mural in the front room
based on my favorite clients.

It was, like, superhero themed.

This was when I first started cosplaying.

I was wearing Dr. Strange.

That's actually the second costume
I ever made. [laughs]

And it was a lot of sewing
and that's why it doesn't look very great

because I still didn't really know
what I was doing.

I got a bunch of pictures
of Merly and Kirby up here.

Here's one of them together.

And then here's a picture of Merly,
her first professional photo sh**t.

And then here's little, like,
stuffed animals of them.

So this is Merly and this is Kirby.

I actually named my dog Kirby
after Jack Kirby.

Jack was one of the original artists
for Marvel Comics.

Here's where I make
all of Merly's costumes and some of mine.

I only make about half of mine,
but I make all of Merly's.

And I've got closet racks of all
of her costumes 'cause she has so many.

She's got, like, 30 on this side
and, like, 50 on this side,

and these ones are actually all Marvel.

[woman] Oh, my God.

[Amanda] It's pretty fun
to do a convention

where Merly and Kirby can be part of it.

I try to make my costume simple
if that's gonna be the case

because then I have
to have two dogs with me.

I was extremely shy as a kid.

I would only have one best friend,
and I would talk to nobody else.

[chuckles]
That was pretty much it.

It was hard
because people thought I was mean

just because I was too scared
to talk to them,

and I kinda have
not a very welcoming-looking face

when I'm just resting, I guess.

So, yeah, everyone would think
I was really rude or unapproachable

just because I was too scared
to talk to anybody.

Good, girl.

I didn't know I had autism.

Come here. Come here.

I didn't know it was a part of my life
until last year

'cause that's when I found out,
in last summer.

Which is part of the reason
I was able to understand

what was actually going on with me

and be able to learn
how to cope better than I was.

Okay. Come here, Merly. Come here.

Merly is a service dog...

Good girl. Sit.

...which is a task-trained dog
that can help you

with a variety of different disabilities
or issues.

Sensory overload
causes, like, similar to a panic attack,

and I wasn't able to cope
with that very well.

And so Merly would be able to let me know
when I needed to sit down

or when I needed to get away from people
or when I needed to go take a break.

Good girl.

I specifically like Moon Knight
because he's kinda dark,

and the fact
that he has a mental disorder,

I think, is pretty neat
because, I mean, I have one too.

It's not the same,
but I just think it's cool

that they included someone way back then

that had something like that
in the comics.

[Cink] Moon Knight
is a really interesting character

because he is imbued with powers
from an Egyptian god,

but he also has
a dissociative personality disorder,

so he has different personalities
to help him deal with different things.

Sometimes his demons are literal.

Sometimes he's dealing with demons
in his mind.

And sometimes he's just trying to deal
with daily life,

and they're all very complicated.

That's the magic of comic books.

It's visually splashed across the page.

So, if you're a person who is dealing
with some of those mental issues,

it might be the first time that you've
seen it visualized on a page in that way.

It's also a way for people
who experience those things

to share it with other people,
to say, "Maybe this is how I feel,"

or, "Maybe this is how
I experience something,"

or, "I didn't even realize
I experienced it in this way."

As humans,
we've always been searching for our story

and looking at our setbacks and
our failures and trying to make meaning.

And so, I think
there is an element of acceptance

and inclusion into that larger picture
that feels really rewarding.

[Amanda] I'll be going
to New York Comic Con this weekend.

I'm driving the whole way. It's 26 hours.

I'm going with my friend Greg,
who's my best friend.

I like driving, a lot.

So, I don't know if he likes driving.
I guess I'll find out.

I've done road trips
with some people before where I'm like,

"Oh, I'm so excited," and then they end up
being not a great road trip person,

so I'm hoping
he's a good road trip person.

[Amanda squeals, chuckles]

Hi, everybody. I'm gonna give her a hug.

Making friends is pretty easy
when you're wearing similar costumes

because then
they want to take pictures together

and you end up talking
and stuff like that.

So, that's how I made most of my friends,
is that way, and then they had friends,

and then we all introduced each other
to everyone's friends.

[Amanda] Justin!

[Greg] I honestly didn't even know what
cosplay was until really a few years ago.

And then once I started deciding to put
myself out there a little bit more

and finding groups like we have here
through Amanda,

it kinda helped me get more confident
in being a cosplayer in general.

She's taking me with her to New York,
so that is something I'm excited about.

[Amanda] We're gonna do Cyclops and Cable.

Cable is Cyclops' son.

He lives in the future, and he comes back.

[laughs]

I always thought he was really cool.

I would say, New York Comic Con

is probably like the Olympics,
if anything. Major leagues. The big tops.

You want to come with your A game.
You want to go all out.

You want to do everything
down to the last detail

to make sure that everybody sees
your costume and says,

"Wow. They really did
their absolute greatest with that."

[all shouting]

I'm definitely a person who loves having
a diverse set of characters to cosplay.

But for Dr. Strange,

I will not display the costume
until I get to the convention center.

The people who come to New York Comic Con

are super excited
about debuting maybe a new costume

or bringing back an old costume.

I live a little bit over an hour away
from the convention center.

And yeah, I've ridden the subway
in full costume quite a few times.

[chuckles]

Hi. Can I get a pretzel
and a Sprite, please?

-No problem.
-Thank you.

[Marcy] The funny thing about New Yorkers
is they will absolutely look,

but for the most part,
they don't really come up and bother you.

They don't look down on you or heckle you,
but they'll stare.

Things have definitely changed,
even since I started cosplaying.

It's so much more acceptable
to be a quote, unquote "nerd."

But really just to be vocal
about loving comics or superheroes.

[Vincent] So, I have the glue g*n,
glue sticks, lip balm,

power packs for the lights on the suit.

A handler is really just a supporter
to a cosplayer. Whatever they need.

Making sure they're hydrated,
having repair supplies.

There are some cosplay accidents
that happen, especially at a convention.

You know, a part might come off,

but I like to make sure
that I'm always prepared.

I'm a little nervous, but...

[Vincent] Ah, it'll be fine.

I told you I'm shy. I don't... [chuckles]

I always feel like I'm awkward
whenever I meet people

'cause they'll be like, "I follow you."

And there's this little part of me
that's like, "Why?"

I'm just one person,
like, in a million people, so...

He has to deal with a lot with me

because if I'm stressed before a con,
I know I can be snappy.

The face dots are crooked.

-They are?
-Mm-hmm.

This side's higher than this side.

-I can't tell.
-Okay.

Wait, wait. Let me see. No, I can't tell.

Okay.

-How can you...
-I can tell.

-You know I have a thing about symmetry.
-I know but...

[Vincent] While it can be stressful,
there is joy in that,

especially when we're working together.

-Suit, boots, gloves...
-Yeah. Laces.

-...belt.
-Utility belt.

-You have the, um...
-Battery packs.

-[Vincent] Yeah.
-Yeah. So, I think that's everything.

The thing that I particularly love
about New York Comic Con

is that you feel like,
"I'm in the home of superheroes."

The first Marvel convention that
ever existed took place in New York City.

So it feels very much
like you are a part of history

when you're at New York Comic Con,
and it's really exciting.

It also feels really important sometimes
that you know as much as you can,

that you're as prepared as you can

because you really are trying
to do justice to 80 years of creation

because that's how long
the Marvel Universe has been around.

[Laboy] Three hundred and fifty thousand
are expected to attend the convention.

Each year, it just seems the popularity
just continues to grow and grow,

and, yeah, it gets crazy. That's for sure.

Put your claws out here.
Right there, hold that.

[Justice] There's no shame
in why you cosplay.

You don't have to be the fan
who knows everything about the character.

You don't necessarily have to be
the encyclopedia of Marvel Comics.

Although if you are, respect. Me too.
But I feel like people should understand

that cosplay's something that really
comes from the heart for a lot of people.

Cosplay is for fun.
That is it. That's why we do it.

If it's not fun anymore,
something's being done wrong.

-[laughs]
-[man] Thank you. That's awesome.

I feel a little nervous, but he's been
bothering me to do this for ten years.

So... he finally got me to do it, so...

I'll finally be immersed
in his world today.

All right. Here we go.

[Josh] Trish is Peggy Carter,
and I'm pretty excited about that.

This is her first cosplay,
so it should be a fun experience.

[chattering]

[Trish] Her character is in the military.

So cool.

I love that, and she's a strong woman
for the time period she's in.

And of course, she's really cool
and badass in the comics.

You're very welcome.

-Pleasure, mate.
-Take care.

I always understood the cosplay community,

but it's different being immersed
inside of it.

Will we ever make it out of this room
into another room?

Um, yeah, it takes a while.
It takes a while to kinda--

So, do you not make eye contact and run?

Anything else, you don't understand it
until you do it.

So now that I'm in it,
and actually interacting and posing,

and I see the fun of it. For sure.

-[man] Awesome. Thanks, bud.
-You're very welcome.

Hi.

Got it? Okay.

Ooh. Hi.

Is my lipstick and my makeup
and stuff still okay?

-Perfection.
-Okay.

[Vincent]
She puts her all into every costume.

[Jasmine] Yeah, we can make it.
We'll just rush.

[Vincent] By the time she gets
to a convention it truly is perfect.

I mean,
she's crafted this amazing costume...

and just seeing people's reactions to it
and how they gravitate to it

and wanna take pictures of it,
I'm just proud.

[Jasmine] Thank you.

-Hi. No, he's just fixing me.
-[Vincent] Yeah, it's no big deal.

Thank you. You look so beautiful.

You're like such an inspiration for me.

-I love you so much.
-Thank you so much.

And one of the reasons why I like cons
is 'cause the few opportunities I get

to be around people
who not only are into comics

but also who appreciate
the craft of cosplay too.

I love your Storm.

Just talking to other people
who craft things is really cool

'cause when you're in person
you can see their stuff up close,

but like, "How did you make this?"

And, honestly,
that's where I've gotten a lot of advice.

Okay, so I'm gonna fight you.

Especially if you see someone
from the same universe as you.

Like, "Oh, my God. I need a picture
with you right now."

Yeah, come on. Come on!
Yeah! This is so good.

[Vincent laughs] It's on now.

[Jasmine]
I feel role model is such a strong word,

but being able
to embody strong female characters

and have people see me

'cause I know I've had people with kids
who will come up to me at cons and stuff

and be like, "Hey, my daughter loves
seeing you dress up as these characters.

It's really cool for her.

Look at how strong and confident
this woman is,

like, someone you can aspire to be like."

So, it's really, really nice.

[chattering]

[Amanda] I am Cable from the X-Men,
which is Cyclops' son.

He has, like, a technological disease,

and so it's taken over
the left side of his body,

and that's why he has a mechanical arm
and a mechanical eye that lights up.

I really like this giant g*n.

That's probably
my favorite part about him,

is that he just has this massive g*n.

It's, like, five feet long,
and it's ridiculous.

[imitates sh**ting, laughs]

He is one of my favorite characters,

but it's just because
I always thought he was cute.

[laughs]

I literally can't get anywhere because
people keep stopping me for pictures.

Which is really fun.

It's really exciting, everyone loving
your costume and everything.

It feels pretty good
because you worked hard on making them,

and then it's nice
to see people appreciating them.

It's, like, you feel like you're famous
for a weekend.

[grunting, laughing]

I had been depressed
for as long as I can remember,

with negative thoughts
and stuff like that.

But now I don't feel like an outsider.

Hey!

-What's up?
-[man] Sup?

It's awesome. I love meeting people.
I love making friends.

It's the best thing.

[Marcy] So many phenomenal artists
go to New York Comic Con

in various industries, comics, toys.

I'll drop by. I'll say hi to people,
other cosplayers. It's very social.

-I love this costume. It's actually--
-[woman] I like the eye. Oh, my God.

It's 3D printed and 3D modeled,
but the lens makes it, like, follow you.

It's really cool being able
to spend so much time making something,

and then put it on and just really
feel the work I've put into it

and the energy that it gives you.

The cape definitely gives you a posture

and a, sort of, walk and a movement
that's very cool.

Welcome to the Marvel Becoming
Costume Contest.

[crowd cheering]

[Marcy]
I do follow a lot of other cosplayers,

and I love seeing them compete,
and I love seeing them win.

And now we're gonna get started...

[Cink] The Marvel Becoming Costume Contest
is my favorite part of the show,

and we want as many people who are
gonna be attending the con in costume

to be able to have a chance to get up
on the stage in their Marvel costume.

You are gonna see
some incredible cosplayers come up here

in their most mighty Marvel costume.

The booth is packed,

and I think that everybody knows
that it's something just really special.

We have an amazing panel of judges
who are often professional cosplayers.

Jasmine was one
of our awesome Captain Marvel cosplayers

-from Marvel Becoming...
-[crowd cheering]

You never really know what's gonna happen,
but it is really, really electric.

Black Widow.

That's cool.

When I'm judging costume contests,
I look for, just, overall craftsmanship.

It's the Hijabi Villains!

[Jasmine] I like asking people,
"Why did you choose this character?

What's your favorite part of the suit?"

So, they can kinda bring your attention
to things that you wouldn't notice.

What inspired y'all
to put this group together?

Our theme is Wrapped and Reckless.

-[man] Yeah!
-[woman] Yeah!

[emcee] Moving on to Jean Grey.

It's a full latex suit.
Like, that's crazy.

[Cink] I love it when the new cosplayers
are coming out,

and they're working themselves up,
and they're really excited and nervous.

And there's something really wonderful
also about getting to be like,

"Come on up.
Welcome. Just do your best and have fun."

And then getting to see the people
who've been doing it forever,

and they are there to show off that they
are the best cosplayer in the community.

The mouth moves. The mouth's not fake.

Yeah. Oh, that's cool.

[emcee] And here comes the Border Tribe.

[crowd cheering]

-I love it. I love it.
-[tribeswoman speaking Xhosa] Yibambe!

Yibambe!

-Yibambe!
-Yibambe!

-Yibambe!
-Yibambe!

-Border Tribe.
-Hey, hey!

Yep, yep. I'm biased.

[emcee] All right,
here comes Doctor Strange.

[Marcy] It's a cool feeling
standing up there on the stage

and seeing that sea of faces

that are all just also really excited
to be there.

It's not scary being up on stage
at the Marvel Costume Contest.

I think that just because
you're not really expected

to perform some kind of bit necessarily,

you just kind of go,
"Hey, everyone. I'm here." [laughs]

I really liked the Hijabi Villains.

-I did too.
-[woman] Oh, my God.

They're definitely high up on my list.

And then also the Border Tribe
stood out to me too.

-They handmade all of the blankets.
-[man] Really?

Yeah, they hand-painted all that stuff.

[Jasmine] The Guardians, obviously.
They were amazing.

-The Wolverine dress.
-[woman] Yeah.

So we've already called out
a lot of people.

I feel like we need to start
doing some ranking here.

Yes.

[Cink] It looks like it's happening.

Judges, come on up.

In the fandom community, I think everyone
is so passionate about these characters

that we all just want to do right by them.

All right. An honorable mention.

We all were just super impressed
by the amount of detail and creativity

and just
thought that went into this design.

It is our Wolverine couture dress.

-[Cink] Oh, Wolverine couture dress.
-[Jasmine] Yes.

And who do we have in first place?

Three, two, one.

[all] The Border Tribe!

[crowd cheering]

[Cink] They have beautiful prosthetic work
on all of their faces.

Their design work is so untypical,
so detailed.

Give it up!

[crowd cheering]

[Cink] All right, the winners
of the Marvel Becoming Costume Contest.

Big Hulk smash, right?

[growls]

Well, life is too short
to be so serious all the time.

So, it's nice just to have something
to be immersed in.

You're a little short.

You're a little shorter
than I thought you would be.

You want to take a picture? Come on.

[Trish] He is all about interacting
with the crowd

and of making children happy and...

I'm Captain America. This is Peggy.

-I love your Spider-Man.
-This is so cool.

[Trish] Usually, I just stay here
and handle his stuff for him,

but to have people come up
to you and be excited.

Like, "Oh, my God. You look so great."

It's nice to bring excitement
to other people.

-Your cheek is, like, spazzing out.
-It's all right. You get used to it.

[Trish] This is exciting.

I think it's so important
that everyone has a hero

to look up to that they identify with.

Cosplayers are really special people
that can disappear into the story

and be taken away with that.

You have to have a big heart
and imagination.

I think all of life is costuming.

We all wear clothes.
None of us were born in clothes.

We're all putting on a costume
of what we want people to see us as.

So I don't think it's that strange
to necessarily say,

"I see myself in this hero,
so I want to dress up as them."

And at the end of the day,
it's just really important

that people have a chance
to see themself as heroes.